In cast iron foundries, used ferromagnetic batch materials can be transported and loaded into the furnace by lifting magnet. The precision of these operations by using electromagnetic grippers depends primarily on the variation in the mass of the batch material pieces. The article presents the characteristics of size of the batch materials used in the selected iron foundry. The obtained ranges mass values of individual pig iron ingots have been presented. It has been found that the mass of individual pig iron ingot may differ ± 25% from the declared by producer. The mass range of individual pieces of crushed or uncrushed return scrap was examined. Some pieces of uncrushed scrap have the mass more than three times the average weight of pieces of this scrap. Characteristics of the lifting capacity of these materials by a lifting magnet suspended to the crane was determined. Analysis of the obtained results indicates that for materials with less diversified mass of individual ferromagnetic pieces it is possible to use a gripper to weight a bigger portion with the same control setting. It was also found that there is a significant dispersion for a given gripper control, especially for materials with a wide range of individual pieces mass changes.

The article presents the influence of the percentage share of pig iron and steel scrap on the chemical composition, physicochemical and mechanical properties. Using an induction furnace, 6 melts were carried out with a variable amount of pig iron in the charge from 0 to 50%. For carburizing, a RANCO 9905 carburizer with a carbon content of 99.2% was used. After melting and introducing FeSi75, temperature measurement was carried out and the metal was superheated to 1500°C. The next step was to pour the samples for chemical analysis, DTA (Derivation Thermal Analysis) and strength and hardness from the melting furnace without inoculation. The last step was to carry out the inoculation by introducing 0.3% barium inoculant into the vat and pouring samplers for DTA analysis. The inoculation was carried out solely to determine changes in DTA parameters, mainly Temin, compared to castings without inoculation.